Any guides to taking out a manual?

[havavb]

Ey I want to take manual running out of my series 2 VN. Is there a guide that would tell me all the parts and how to go about taking them out. The gearbox is straightforward, and I'm about 80% sure on the clutch pedal. But yeah want to grunt it out and convert my wagon to manual. Cheers.

[Morton]

Alrighty.

00) get the front and rear of the car as HIGH as you can (I highly recommend 4000kg jack stands for stability and height)
01) remove tailshaft (4 bolts at the diff, two bolts at the outside of the centre bearing, slide the bugger out)
02) remove exhaust y-section (two bolts at each flange leading to the headers, two bolts at the catalytic converter)
03) remove wiring (reverse switch) and clutch cable (straightforward)
04) remove drain plug and let the bastard empty out while you proceed to the next steps (one big hex key bolt down the bottom on the driver's side)
05) remove starter motor (two bolts up through the bottom, and associated wiring)
06) remove bellhousing inspection plate (should be a handfull of screws along the bottom of the bellhousing)
07) remove centre console and all rubber boots (so you can access the gear shifter plate)
08) support the weight of the gearbox with a big jack, and undo the trans crossmember (two bolts, one on either end)
09) lower the gearbox maybe four inches
10) undo the four bolts (13mm) holding the shifter plate onto the top of the back of the gearbox
11) remove the shifter plate and gear stick as one unit through the centre console inside the car (trust me, whatever people say, it's just EASIER if you do this!)
12) lower the gearbox (should still be on the jack) far enough that the whole unit (gearbox and engine) are leaning right back, and the jack is JUST taking maybe a few mill of travel (so not much weight)
13) remove the crossmember assembly from the gearbox (so it doesn't stab you in the leg when you remove the gearbox) (two 15mm or 17mm bolts right up the top of the trans mount)

14) double check that nothing else is connected to the gearbox, and nothing else is going to impede on the gearbox's backward + downward movement

15) remove all the bellhousing bolts EXCEPT the top right, and two bottom bolts (this will make sense in a minute)
16) take the last three bolts out progressively, sliding the gearbox back EVENLY on them as you go. Essentially you want to use these bolts for as long as possible, as a means of drawing the gearbox back in a dead straight line. This avoids damaging the spigot bush, clutch plate, pressure plate and input shaft, as all can be fragile.
16a) IF you could be bothered, I actually prefer to remove the top right and bottom two bolts FIRST, and replace them with LONGER bolts. Then they act as KING slides to draw the gearbox back on
17) ensure you're lowering the jack progressively as you go, to keep the gearbox straight with the engine
18) when you're ready to commit, bench press the gearbox, have your assistant (or your free hand if you're just holding the gearbox up with one arm like a boss ^_^) remove the last three bolts (top first, then the bottom two last) and draw the gearbox away from the engine
19) put it down on your chest and thank goodness nobody died

20) remove the pressure plate from the flywheel. ALWAYS undo the bolts in a star pattern (opposing sides) and loosen them gently, in sequence, bit by bit, much like you would a set of head bolts. This avoids damage to the pressure plate springs.
21) remove the flywheel. Get somebody to hold the crankshaft still with a big socket and breaker bar if you need to.
22) sit back and think about how much fun you're going to have putting it all back into another car ^_^


Supplementary section:

When removing a manual pedal box it's just SO much easier if you drop the steering column and pull it out first. Two bolts up the top, one down the back, undo the spline clamp from the steering rack and pull the bugger out.

It's also a prick to get the two bolts out from the back of the pedal box that are on the engine side. If they're still holding the fuel line and brake pline brackets on, just enjoy it. Ratchet spanners help. A lot.


Hope that helped

[havavb]

Yeah, seems like a bit of work, let's just hope I don't stuff it up haha